Echoes of the Past
by Animagus1
Summary: The past is repeating itself...


A/N: This can be read from Hermione's POV or basically any other girl you want to see married to Harry(although I am writing from Hermione's POV.) Hey, if you are a pyscho YOU can be married to Harry!  
DISCLAIMER:Everyone/thing you recognize does not belong to me. Medea Snape belongs to ME, as does Riddle's brother.  
  
I graduated from Hogwarts with Honours and two years later married Harry Potter. We had a son when we were both twenty one, whom we named James, in honour of Harry's father.  
  
We lived in a comfortable area with nice neighbours. More importantly it was a wizarding community.  
  
The house to the left had been empty for about six months when some new people moved in. Although our house and the others surrounding it always seemed to have the sun on them, after the new family moved in, that house never did.  
  
Harry, James (who was two at the time) and I went over to introduce ourselves, as is the custom in our village.  
  
We knocked at the front door and eventually someone opened it. He just stood there, without saying a word, until James broke the silence by saying hello, something he had   
only just learnt to say.  
  
The man frowned. Most people when faced with James saying hello to them smiled at him and told him what a clever boy he was. Our friends Ron and Cho, who were recently   
married, delighted in giving him little treats everytime he said something.  
  
His sallow skin and black hair reminded me much of Professor Snape, but even Snape's rage seemed paltry compared to the frown he gave my son then.  
  
We introduced ourselves and he gave a grunt in reply. After that he closed the door in our faces. We walked away then, wondering what his problem was. I thought he might just be tired and stressed from the hassle of the move, but Harry was sure that there was something more.  
  
A couple of months passed like this, with us never seeing our neighbour.  
One night there was a knock at the door. As it was late, we wondered who it was. Harry went to open it and I went upstairs because the loud knock had woken James.  
The sound of raised voices coming from downstairs alerted me to the fact that there   
was something wrong. I hurried down the stairs and into the living room.   
  
Our next door neighbour and Harry were both standing in the middle of the room, wands in the traditional defence position.  
I asked what the hell was going on and the man answered my question.  
'I am Tom Riddle's brother!' In the shocked silence that followed his revelation I got my wand out.  
'Tom is weakened so he told me to find your happy family. Haven't you noticed that there is - or was, when I'm done with him - something unusual about your son?'  
We had noticed that James was developing in magic extraordinarily fast, but had put it down to having such a talented father(and mother, Harry was always reminding me.)  
'I'll tell you why Tom wants him, and you two as well for that matter, dead. Its because even though Tom is stronger now because he has Harry's blood in him, Harry's son and all further blood relations, will be stronger than him. He's given up trying to get you over to the Dark Side, so he's trying this instead.'  
He laughed then, at the thought of the destruction of our small family.  
  
I noticed a soft chanting, but Riddle apparently didn't. I tried to keep him talking so he wouldn't notice the noise. I was terrified at the thought of him killing my child and husband. I was more afraid for them than I was for myself.  
  
Harry's voice had risen and after the last line of the powerful protection spell, he told me to get James and go. The thought that Harry's history was repeating itself was lodged in my mind. I was determined that Harry and I were not going to have the same   
fate as Lily and James had had, but I didn't know how to stop it.  
  
I grabbed James from his bed and picked him up. I ran down the stairs with him held tight to me. We made it out of the front door when Harry joined us. James screamed out for his father and I stopped. Harry yelled at me to keep running, but I couldn't leave him.  
  
History was repeating....And the most I could do was give James the same protection as   
Lily had given Harry.  
  
Riddle was coming across the lawn towards me and James. Harry ran in front of us and I put James down on the grass, which was wet with dew, and stood shoulder to shoulder with my husband.  
  
I held my wand pointed towards Riddle. My hand was shaking, as was my voice.  
'Keep the hell away from us!'  
He continued walking towards us. He had a evil grin on his face as he stalked towards the three of us.   
  
Harry told me that whatever happened he would always love me and James, raised his wand and shouted two words:  
'Avada Kedavra!'  
There was a blinding flash of green light and Riddle fell to the ground. He couldn't have been as strong as Voldemort then, I thought vaguely.  
My head cleared then and I noticed that Harry was lying on the ground. He was as still as a statue, and as pale as marble.  
  
I crawled over to him and closed his eyes. I bowed my head and offered up a prayer to an unseen God. I noticed that James was crying and stood up to comfort him. I said another silent prayer for at least having my son.  
  
I wiped my cheeks on my sleeve and vowed to be strong for the sake of my son. Suddenly the words of Professor Lupin came back to me, like a helpful ghost.  
Performing a killing curse will take away the strength of the performer and in very rare cases will kill them...  
I had been sure Harry was dead, but now a spark of hope had ignited itself. I went over and slowly fell to my knees. I took his limp hand in mine and felt for a pulse. I could have screamed for joy. There was a heartbeat!! It was faint and slow, but it was there!  
A wave of my wand conjured up a stretcher. Another wave and Harry was lying on it, pale against the red blanket.  
  
I took James hand and apparated to just outside the gates of Hogwarts. I could of gone to Ron and Cho's, or my parents, or to Ginny and Neville's, but I felt safer going to Hogwarts.  
  
I began the slow walk up to the door, which I had first gone through as a scared first year, and many times since.  
  
When I finally reached the door I lifted the big knocker and slammed it down as hard as I could. I was scared no one would answer, after all it was the middle of the night. After a long pause, just as I was getting ready to knock again, it opened slightly.  
  
A anxious face looked out at me and I almost fainted with relief at the sight of a well known face.  
'Professor Snape!'  
He opened the door wider and I stumbled into the entrance hall, still clutching hold of James' hand. The stretcher was still by my side.  
I dimly heard him say 'Hermione Granger?'  
'Potter,'I mumbled, and collapsed.  
  
When I woke again it was morning and Harry was in a bed next to mine. James was nowhere to seen. I realised that I was in the School Infirmary. I sat up and called out to see if anyone was around.  
  
A much older Madam Pomfrey came in then and walked over to the bed, with a smile on her face.  
'Hermione, we've been worried-'  
I interrupted her, rude as it was. 'Where's James? What's wrong with Harry?' I was panicking and she knew it. She made me sit back and told me James was with Professor Snape.  
'Snape!? Why?!  
'You've been unconscious for a week, Hermione, and Snape offered to care for James with the help of Medea. Professor Dumbledore agreed. And we think Harry will be okay. He's had a lot taken out of him by the curse he performed but he should recover and be back to normal in about a week.'  
'How did you know about...' my voice trailed off.  
She smiled sadly.'It was all over the Daily Prophet, my dear. Your friends have been beside themselves with worry. Now try to get some rest.'  
  
She bustled off busily, leaving me alone with my thoughts. After a while the door opened quietly and I sat up.  
A male voice asked 'Is she asleep?' and I recognized the voice as Snape's, but not the Snape we had left behind as a distant nightmare after graduation, but a completely different man.  
'No,' a cheerful voice said. 'Is it okay if we come in?'  
'Sure,'I replied.  
A tall, blonde woman came in, followed closely by Snape. 'Would you like a glass of water?'   
'Yes please.'  
She handed me the glass and introduced herself. 'Hi, I'm Medea, and I'm sure you know who this grump is!'  
He smiled! He actually smiled! In all my years at Hogwarts I had never seen him smile, and especially not when he heard people insulting him!  
I liked Medea immediately. Snape smiled again, at me this time. 'I must apologize for my wife. She doesn't realize that recovering people need rest. She insists that the best medicine is laughter.'  
  
I choked on my water then. Did I just hear him say WIFE!? No wonder he was so much nicer. Medea looked as if she wouldn't stand for much nastiness.  
Medea slipped her arm through Snape's then and leant against him. 'James couldn't wait to see you. He kept talking about brave mummy and daddy! He's very clever, you know.'  
I nodded and remembered what Voldemort's brother had said. I must have gone pale or something, because Medea and Snape stepped forwards, alarmed.  
  
I waved them away. 'Its nothing - just something Harry said to me once.'  
'We'd best be going now, Severus. We'll bring James to see you this afternoon. We would have brought him this morning, but we weren't sure if you'd be awake or not.'  
I nodded and they left quietly. I looked over at my husband and sighed.  
  
That afternoon James ran in the door, followed closely by Medea. She and I laughed as James hurled himself into my arms. I gave him a long hug. When I looked up Medea was watching us with a grin.  
I smiled back and asked her how long she'd been married to Snape.  
'Four years. We met in America. He thought I was a Muggle at first!' She laughed happily.  
'Do you have any children?' I inquired.  
'We will do soon! I'm three months pregnant. Severus and I are both kind of nervous about it though. I think that's part of the reason Dumbledore let us look after James.' She looked nervous and happy at the same time. She and James left after about a hour as it James' bedtime. I waved goodbye and soon fell asleep myself.  
  
That week passed slowly - a blur of visits from friends and James, sleep and worry about Harry. As soon as Madam Pomfrey would let me I sat by his bed remembering our past.  
  
When he asked me out for the first time, our first kiss, graduating together, him asking me to marry him, our wedding day, moving into our new home, me finding out I was pregnant and him spinning me around in a circle, the birth of James, and him protecting me and James on that awful night.  
  
One evening I'd fallen asleep with my head resting on the edge of his bed. I woke slowly and felt something in my hair. I reached up a hand and touched warm flesh. I yelped, imagining all sorts of horrors tangled in it. I heard a soft laugh and looked at Harry's face. His laughing green eyes were staring into mine. I let out a sob and gave him a  
massive hug, laughing and crying at the same time.  
He smoothed my hair comfortingly and I leaned against him. We stayed like that for hours, until Madam Pomfrey came in.  
  
She had been at a feast and was wearing shimmering silver robes and I think she was wearing makeup. As she came in to the room she saw Harry and me, grinned and rushed back out. A little while later she came back, followed by most of the staff.  
  
Most of the faces were familiar - although older - from my childhood, and they were all smiling at us. One face was missing - Medea's.  
That mystery was solved when she came in carrying a very sleepy James. She was followed by Snape, who wasn't dressed up like the others. She saw me looking at him and explained.  
'He was looking after James.'  
Madam Pomfrey bustled around and made Harry swallow some horrible smelling medicine, which made him gag.  
  
After about a hour of talking about what had happened the teachers left. Except for one. We were left alone with Dumbledore. He stroked James' hair, who had fallen asleep in his father's arms.  
'So Voldemort is scared of this little one, eh?'  
'Yes. He said that all our children and future blood relatives will be stronger than Voldemort.' I could say that name without fear now.  
'I don't doubt it. I think when James grows up he'll probably have more power in his hand than all of Voldemort's put together.'   
Harry looked horrified and I felt as bad as he looked. Harry had had a death threat hanging over his childhood, and now our son did too.  
  
I looked down at my innocent son fast asleep with a slight smile on his face.  
No matter what happened he would always have Harry and I... 


End file.
